


Red Hat Society

by infiniteOddity



Category: Funhaus, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Also appear and are sort of rivals, Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, The Creatures - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-03-30 01:31:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3918283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infiniteOddity/pseuds/infiniteOddity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being part of a minor crew can be fun when you spend a lot of your time dicking around. But when people who are a little less new to the scene show up, things tend to go down.</p>
<p>Also known as, Kootra accidentally messes everything up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Even though he’d been doing it for years, Spoole found that working with the six other guys that he called his crew was exhausting. He’d been with them through a couple identity changes and countless jobs and the rush was always so good, but Spoole always cherished the times in which he could just sink down in front of a computer or TV and just wile away the hours working through a game or watching a video.  


Tonight was not going to be one of those nights as he let out a constant stream of yawns on his walk back to his apartment. Tonight had been a casing night, so he’d been forced to leave his car at home, should anyone at the jewelry store get suspicious of the same car driving around the building on multiple days. It wasn’t much of a sacrifice though, the slightly cool night air was keeping him awake enough to get home. He was still yawning though and just as he closed his eyes during a particularly strong one, running footsteps came around the corner he was about to turn and a body came crashing straight into him.  


Spoole was suddenly much more awake as he was sprawled on his ass with some guy laughing and muttering shit to him as he tried to help Spoole up. He was awake enough now to realize that this guy was weird. “Are you okay, man,” he asked as he tried to wipe the dirt off of his pants. “You sure are in a hurry tonight.”  


The guy laughed and scratched the side of his neck, “Yeah, my friends challenged me to a block-wide game of hide-and-seek. I gotta hide before time’s up.”  


Spoole just shook his head in amazement, “Okay, man, have fun then. I guess.”  


The guy shot him a wink, “Oh, I will. I’m totally gonna win. I’ve got some pro strats up my sleeve. Gotta go, but nice hat by the way.”  


He tilted his hat at Spoole as he walked by him. It left Spoole laughing as he noticed the guy’s hat was red like his.  


  
~*~  


Spoole was too tired, and now sore, to do anything other than shuck off his clothes and fall into bed the moment he entered his room.  
The morning led to a panicking Spoole. His wallet was missing. He swore he had it last night on his way home, but now it was gone. He spent his morning routine hoping in the back of his mind that he had just left it somewhere in Adam’s apartment, but he had serious doubts.  


“Where the fuck could it be,” he sighed to himself as he put his shoes on and noticed the lack of weight in his front pocket. At least the backpack he carried wasn’t any lighter than usual.  


As he was leaving his apartment, and locking the two dead bolts, he was greeted with a surprise.  
A black bag and a note were stuck on his door with a throwing knife. He pulled the knife free from the wood and cringed as he ran his finger over the new gash in the wood. Hopefully his landlord wouldn’t notice. He then perused the items in his hands. The black bag was inspected first. He gave it a little shake. Whatever was in there simply slid across the plastic and it didn’t sound wet, so it wasn’t an explosive or a body part. He ventured to open the bag and in it sat his wallet. He leaned against his apartment door and sighed in relief, “This means no trip to every office building in town for me.”  


He pulled his wallet out of the bag and stuck it in his pocket; replacing it with the throwing knife so he wasn’t just carrying that thing around. Now it was time to look at the note. The writing was fairly messy as it scrawled out,  
_“Hey,_  


_Sorry for stealing your wallet. Couldn’t resist after I knocked you over, but then I felt kind of because I knocked you over. Also, the red hat definitely had a hand in it. I looked at your ID and decided to do a little stalking to return it. Sorry about that, too._   


_Enjoy the knife. It’s factory new._  
_Kootra”_  


At the bottom was a picture of something that Spoole couldn’t even begin to describe. He didn’t even bother trying to figure it out and instead put it in the bag with the knife and threw the whole thing into his backpack.  


Today was going to be more casing and scouting, so he wasn’t allowed to take his car. Instead he hefted his backpack higher onto his shoulders and started his walk to Adam’s office. It felt much shorter when he wasn’t dead on his feet and it seemed like he was buzzing to be let up in no time at all.  


When he walked into Adam’s living room, he was greeted with a chorus of ‘good morning’s and Joel wrapping his arms around his shoulders, “Anything interesting happen since our last sorrowful parting?”  


Bruce laughed from where he was sprawled across the couch, “Please, Joel, what’s going to happen in less than twelve hours?”  


Spoole dodged away from where Joel’s hands were already trying to swipe away his hat, “Actually, something did happen.”  


“Ooo, do tell,” Spoole looked to see James taking up the other couch in front of the TV and gesturing him over to sit. Adam, Matt, and Lawrence, who were huddled around Lawrence’s laptop at the kitchen island, also looked up for a moment to see what was going on.  


Spoole ended up on James’s couch with his friend’s feet in his lap and Joel perched on the table in front of him. James was trying to guess what happened, “You met an old lady and she told you that she was actually a young princess, but she was cursed to look old and the only way to make her young again was to fuck her and so you did, but it turns out she was really just an old lady. Or you met a man and he told you that he had a genie trapped in his dick and if you rubbed it you could get three wishes, but when you rubbed it all you got was cum.”  


A pillow came sailing across the room and smacked James in the face. Bruce had his angry face on, “Shut up, James! So, what happened last night, Spoole?”  


Spoole blocked getting hit with the pillow himself and started, “Well, when I was walking home, some weird guy knocked me on my ass and then told me he liked my hat, ‘cause he was wearing a red hat, too. Then I went home and went to bed. This morning I realized that my wallet was gone, but when I was leaving my wallet was stuck to my door with a knife and a weird note. And the note basically said that the guy stole my wallet and then felt bad about it?”  


Bruce was suddenly very intrigued, “Why was the note weird? Do you still have it?”  


“Yeah, of course I do,” He fished the black bag out of his backpack and tossed it to Bruce. “The note was kind of weird, but it’s the thing that’s drawn at the bottom that’s really weird.”  


“What did he give you the paper that he drew his rule 34 Predator art on,” Bruce was laughing as he reached into the bag. “The fuck? Is there a knife in here to?!”  


“Oh, yeah, that was in my door.”  


“Okay, cool. Let’s look at this note. Light stalking…that’s always good. Wait, what the fuck is that? Is that a rabbit or a dog,” Bruce was squinting at the note as if blurring the picture together would tell him what it really was.  


Suddenly the paper was being lifted from his hands, “I’d like to take a look at that, if you don’t mind.”  


“When the fuck did you get there?!”  


Lawrence ignored Bruce as he studied the drawing closely. After a few minutes of everyone staring at him, he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, “None of you know what this is?”  


He was met with “No”s from Bruce, James, and Spoole and a “I can’t even see the fucking thing” from Adam.  


Lawrence sighed again and brought the paper to Adam and Matt, while Joel tried to peak over his shoulder to see what was scrawled across it, “This is the emblem of The Creatures. And that Kootra guy is their fucking leader.”  


Joel was curious again and was now clinging to Lawrence’s back, “So, who are these guys?”  


Lawrence didn’t even feel like shrugging him off at this point, “Bad news is what.”  


James was laughing from the couch he was still claiming, “How bad could a couple guys with no artistic abilities be?”  


“James.”  


“Yes?”  


“Last month they held up a bank with only katanas.”  


The room erupted into chaos. Everyone was asking for details, in between disbelieving laughter, and wanted to know if this had actually happened.  


Adam finally had enough and he put his vague authority to use, “Everyone, shut the fuck up!”  


The room was quite for a solid two minutes, until Matt spoke up from beside Adam, “I think I heard about that job. Five of them burst into the bank with katanas. Their usual driver and sniper weren’t seen, so it’s assumed that they were outside support. The bank thought it was a joke, but they were proven wrong and those assholes got away with a lot of cash.”  


James was now across the room, trying to push everyone away from the laptop to find out more about this crew, “How did we not hear about this? If I was a news guy I’d want to talk about nothing but ninjas robbing a bank for a week!”  


Bruce looked to Spoole, who was rubbing at his abused thighs, “Spoole, just what did you get yourself into?”  


Spoole looked up at him and pulled a distressed face, “I don’t know. I just wanted to go home.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, this heist got fucked up.

It had rained in Los Santos for the first time in months. The whole city had a glossiness to it all day, and now that night has sunk in, even the roads were sparkling from street lights. Spoole had escaped to the roof of Adam’s apartment building. He’d been cooped up all day tapping into the jewelry store’s security system and he figured that he deserved to enjoy the way the fog slithered across the streets. Damp nights after it rained all day were an incredible relief from the days that would leave every surface scalding, even after the sun had gone down. 

He didn’t care that water was seeping into his jeans as he leaned back and breathed out a haze of his own. He just wanted to relax and shake away the lines of code that were still running through his brain. He closed his eyes and listened to cars cruise through the damp streets and the sounds of distant sirens.

He was lost in the sounds of nighttime Los Santos when he heard the roof door open. It wasn't until he felt someone sit down next to him that he opened his eyes. It was Lawrence.

He sat up and looked to the newcomer, “How’d you know where to find me?”

“You tell us when you’re going home and you’re the only one who would actually uses that,” as he finished he pointed to the bong that was perched precariously next to Spoole.

“You’re telling me that you found me because no one else thinks to smoke outside?”

“Pretty much. So, what are you doing up here?”

Spoole leaned back and closed his eyes again, “Just sort of hanging out. I like being inside as much as the next pasty guy, but I couldn’t be on the same floor as Adam’s computer after staring at it all day. I wish I could just bring my set-up here, but I don’t want to have to drag it back and forth.”

Lawrence sighed next to him, “I’m with you on that one. I’m here more than at my own place. Everything’s starting to get a layer of dust on it and I don’t know when I’m going to find time to take care of it. Wait a minute.”

He stood up suddenly and started heading for the door.

Spoole sat up again and almost thought about going after him, “Where are you going?!”

“I just had an idea! Also, you know when your wallet was stolen?”

Spoole was confused, but thought back to last week and the note that was now stuck to Adam’s fridge, between a picture of Joel covered in the jewels from their first heist and a the map that James had drawn the first time he led a job. He gave the retreating man a puzzled look, “I think I remember it.”

“Did you ever figure out if anything was missing?”

Spoole thought about if he had looked into his wallet, “Yeah, actually…I was missing five bucks and a Cluckin’ Bell coupon.”

Lawrence nodded as his fingers wrapped around the door handle, “So nothing important was taken. That’s a relief. Good night, Spoole. And keep an eye open when you go home tonight.”

With those parting words, he disappeared down the stairs that would take him into the rest of the building and Spoole laid back down on the wet concrete to look up at the hazy sky.

He’d have to remember not to fall asleep up here again.

  
~*~  


Today was the day that they had been waiting for for weeks. It was heist time and they were all itching to get their fingers on the jewels that would bring their next big payday. They were sat on the couches in Adam’s apartment while Adam and James stood in front of them to go over the plan, again. 

James was grinning as he gave each of them their jobs, “So, Adam and Spoole and Bruce and Joel will be posing as gay couples shopping for wedding rings. Matt, Lawrence, and I will be waiting across the street in the carpet cleaning van we stole. From there Lawrence and Matt will be monitoring the store’s security feed and will give the word when there is the least amount of people around. Lawrence will cut the feed, you guys in the store will then do the whole, “Everyone on the ground. This is a robbery!” thing, and Matt will go in to bring you guys the bags and lend a hand. Then, you’ll get the jewels, get in the van, and I will drive us all to safety.”

Adam clapped his hands together to bring their attention to him, “Now that that’s settled, any questions? No? Cool. Matt, is your jewel guy ready to move a new shipment?”

Matt looked through his phone for a minute, “Yup, everything is set, boss.”

“Good, then let’s get changed,” he ushered them further into the house with a wave of his hands. He stopped when he noticed that Spoole was lingering around the couches. “What’s up, buddy?”

Spoole hunched up his shoulders and didn’t look at Adam, “I didn’t realize that we weren’t going to be wearing our street clothes.”

Adam laughed and put his hands on his friend’s shoulders to smooth them out, “Is that it? It’s no big deal. You’re cute enough that they’ll let you pass as my scruffy wife.”

He then left to go change.

The rest of the crew emerged a few minutes later with Bruce in a button-down and nice jeans and Joel in a casual suit. James, Lawrence, and Matt were decked out in matching jumpsuits.

Joel had removed his jacket so he could adjust his gun holster around his shoulders and slide his vintage pistol into its slot, “So, all we need is for Adam to get done and then I guess we can get going.”

“Did somebody call for the hottest husband ever,” Adam emerged from his room dressed in a crisp button-down and tucking what had to be his combat pistol into the back of his waistband.

“Obviously not, since he’s already here,” Joel was the only one with the means and insight to practice gun safety. He elbowed Bruce in exasperation as he followed Adam’s lead and also stashed his combat pistol in the back of his pants. Spoole fished his AP out of his backpack. He’d hide it right before they entered the store. He was not willing to endure the car ride there with that thing jabbing into his spine the whole time.

Adam clapped his hands together again, “Alright, boys, are we ready to make bank?”

He looked around at Matt and Lawrence triple checking their laptop bags, and the earpieces that they would all be wearing, and everyone else staring at him expectantly, “That’s what I thought, James, if you’d do the honors…”

James grinned at the men gathered around the door, “Operation: Midday Sparkle is a go!”

  
~*~  


James dropped the four of them off a couple streets away from the store. Joel and Bruce went on ahead, hands entwined as they approached their destination, while Spoole hung back with Adam so they weren’t all seen entering together. Spoole adjusted his hat and smoothed the back of his shirt over his pistol for what felt like the hundredth time, “How do you think today is going to go?”

Adam leaned against the building they were loitering in front of, “I think that this is going to go smoothly and that by the end of it, we’ll have enough to buy a house and move in together.”

Spoole did a double take, “Excuse me?”

Adam chuckled, “This isn’t our first time hitting a store like this. It’ll go fine.”

Spoole frowned at Adam, “You know that’s not what I’m talking about. Where’d this moving in thing come from?”

Adam strolled over to pat him on the arm, “Lawrence talked to me last night before he left. He told me about the conversation you two had about it being easier to have your stuff where you were the most, and I really liked the idea. We could do jobs more often, without having to bother checking that we brought the right things, and we wouldn’t have to worry about situations like last week happening, because no one would be walking home to an empty house.”

Spoole was suddenly very glad that they hadn’t turned on their ear pieces yet, “Adam, I don’t know if this is a conversation we should be having in the middle of the street.”

He sighed and let go of Spoole’s arm, “I guess you won this round but, as soon as we get back to the apartment, we are having a group meeting about my plan. Let’s go shop for a nice ring for you.”

Spoole felt all the nerves of the last few weeks settle deep into his stomach the minute he walked into the store hand-in-hand with Adam. They had turned on their ear pieces just outside the door and the white noise was getting to him. He immediately felt out of place in his plaid shirt and hat and he knew that everyone else in the store thought so too. 

A quick glance to Joel and Bruce in the back of the store eased him a little, but he knew the feeling wouldn’t go away until he was curled up on one of Adam’s couches.

Adam put his arm around his shoulders as one of the attendants approached them, “How can I help you gentlemen, today?”

Adam gave Spoole a squeeze and cast him a heart-melting smile, “We’re getting married in September and so we’re looking for wedding bands.”

The man waiting on them gave them a quick smile and led them to a display case near the side of the store.

“All of our precious metal bands are here. If you’re looking for something with a little more glitz, our diamond display case is currently occupied,” he gestured to where a bubbly woman was showing rings to Bruce and Joel.

Spoole chuckled at his friends, “No. No. We’re just looking for something simple and sturdy.”

The man gave them a smile that was tinged in relief, “Well, then I think I have something that may be just perfect.”

He took out the key for the display case that he was standing behind and pulled out a collection of about a dozen rings. First, he pulled out a set of matching gold bands that had identical circular cutouts all the way around, “This is our most sought after set. They are both ten karat, yellow gold and come at a set discount of $25,000.”

Adam looked at the rings closely and shrugged his shoulders, “They’re okay, but I want something a little more unique and I know that these are from last year’s collection. My fiancé and I work as marketing managers for Ponsonbys and, if any of our coworkers thought that I had the audacity to buy something like those for the love of my life, I would lose my job.”

The attendant turned red in embarrassment and glanced at his coworker, Joel, and Bruce who had all stopped to watch the small scene that Adam made, “Erm, I am sorry for assuming, sir. Perhaps these would suit your needs?”

Next, he pulled a black band from the soft padding along with a thinner, sliver one that had a black stripe running through it, “These two make a perfect set. This black one is pure, PVD platinum and the silver one is fourteen karat, white gold inlaid with a strip of PVD platinum. These are marked at about $35,000 individually but, as a set, we offer them at $60,000.”

Spoole’s gaze narrowed in on the gold ring. He wasn't much of a jewelry man, but it was hard to say no to something that perfect with that price tag. He nudged Adam’s side and set him a look that he hoped could be read as “I’m keeping that.” He grinned at the salesman, “These ones are incredible.”

Just then, Matt’s voice rang through their ears, making them both jump, “Something weird just happened to the cameras.”

Adam whipped out his phone in a flash and appeared to be reading a message. He turned to Spoole with a frantic expression, “It’s my mother. All she said was “Call me,” but that could mean anything.”

He turned to the attendant, “Could you excuse us a moment, while I check on her?”

He dragged Spoole to an empty part of the display room before the salesman could even nod. He pretended to dial number on his phone and held it up to his ear. He waited in silence before pressing the corner to his earpiece in order for it to transmit his voice, “Hi, mom! …Weird how?”

Lawrence’s voice rang in their ears next, “You know on old security systems, how the tapes would mess up and so occasionally an offset line would run through the screen?”

Adam cut in, “Mom, those tapes haven’t worked in years!”

Lawrence sighed, “I know. That little error just went through a fully digital system. I think someone just tapped into the system a little less cleanly than us.”

Adam sighed back and worried his lip, “Mom, who would break into your house just to steal your Donny Osmond tapes?”

Matt’s voice came back, “We don’t know….wait. The feed just cut. Watch yourselves.”

Adam’s face went blank and he mumbled, “I have to go.”

As soon as he said that, a group of five men burst through the front doors with bandannas on their faces and a collection of automatic weapons in their grips. The one wearing a beanie took point and swept his gun across the store, “Listen, you know exactly what’s going on here, so don’t try anything funny. Just put your hands up and gather in the center of the room and everything will be mint. Boys, why don’t you direct them?”

The rest of the group circled to the walls of the store while everyone else stayed stock-still. They pushed the three attendants, a couple who had walked in while Adam was on the “phone”, and Bruce and Joel into the center of the building while Adam and Spoole took the few steps that would put them with the rest of the group. The one who had been speaking before, looked over the group, “All of you on your knees and keep your hands in the air!”

All of them complied while the group of concealed thieves began to smash display cases and bag gems. Spoole looked to his side at Adam who had leaned back a bit so Bruce could whisper to him.

As one of the thieves pillaged the display closest to Spoole, he got a better view at what the man was wearing. What really caught his attention was the familiar cap on his head. Spoole’s surprised noise must not have been as quiet as he had hoped, because the guy turned to him and the way the bandanna scrunched around his face had to mean he was grinning. He brought his haul over to the one in the beanie and they had a quiet discussion for a few moments.

Everyone on the floor jumped when Kootra suddenly spoke. “You,” he pointed towards Spoole. “You will be coming with us to make sure no one tries anything.”

Adam grabbed his hand, diverting Spoole’s attention to his sort of leader. Adam was mouthing reassurances to him, _Stay safe. We’ll come get you._

_Kootra_ , was all Spoole had time to reply as he was hauled to his feet and the barrel of an Uzi sunk into the material of his hat.

“Sorry about this,” was whispered into his ear as he was escorted out the door and into the back of a nondescript van. His friend's worried looks burned into his mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to be accurate with GTA guns, but forget calling an UZI a Micro Sub-machine Gun. It's a frickin UZI.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoole, what did you get yourself in to?

The ride through Los Santos was the most uncomfortable Spoole had ever been. He was crammed into the back of a van in between Kootra and some scrawny, blond kid who had been kicked out of the driver’s seat by an equally scrawny kid with a tat sleeve. Also, his pistol was jamming into his lower back, but there was no way he was going to try to remove it from his waistband. He’d rather deal with the bruising. 

He stared down at his scuffed up shoes and tried to block out the yelling that had been going on for most of drive. Blocking it out was not going to happen. The sirens in the city had stopped before the yelling had even come close. 

Beanie guy was not happy about Spoole being there and he rightly blamed Kootra, “Jordan. Jordan! I made a plan, Jordan, and when I make a plan things tend to go along with the plan and you fucked it up!” 

Spoole couldn’t see Kootra’s face, but he sounded amused, “James, we discussed this in the store and you were fine with it then.” 

Apparently James was a leading name for guys with plans. This James was incredibly unhappy, though, “Yeah! I was fine when you told me you had a sure fire way to get us out of there with no problem. Not like there was a problem to begin with. I was _fine_ until you decided to kidnap some random guy. What is wrong with you?!” 

Now Kootra was laughing, “Oh, relax. I know this kid. I stole his wallet a week ago and gave it back. I’m pretty sure we’re cool.” 

Spoole could feel all the eyes in the back of the van on him. So, he did what he always did and scrunched up his shoulders and pressed even closer to the metal wall behind him. His pistol was definitely going to leave a bruise now. He still wasn't really sure if he was cool with Kootra’s insistent existence in his life. 

Other James was still yelling, “You know this guy because you stole his wallet?! That’s a great way to get to know someone. I’m sure you two have had many wonderful conversations about petty theft!” 

The guy in the Batman shirt, who was in the passenger seat, turned around then, “We’re here.” 

The blond guy next to Spoole hopped out first and then Kootra was nudging at him to get out too. The five who were in the back with Spoole all stretched to alleviate the tension from being crammed into the back of the van. The two guys who were up front were already at the front door of the house waiting. 

Spoole was guided to the front door and when it swung open, James, the beanie guy yelled into the house, “We have a guest!” 

Three sets of rushed footsteps could be heard going up stairs deeper within the house. 

The group lead Spoole into an open area between a living room and dining room. All eyes turned to Kootra. Another lanky kid, with incredibly spikey hair, who had also been in the back of the van finally spoke up, “Really though, Jordan, what are we going to do with this guy?” 

The kid was surprisingly British. Kootra was laughing before but his face suddenly fell and he turned his head in confusion. He looked around the circle of men for a moment and shrugged, “You know, I actually didn’t think that far ahead.” 

Everyone groaned and the yelling started up again. For the first time, since he was taken from the store, Kootra actually addressed Spoole, “How do you feel about PCs?” 

Spoole whipped his head up and giggled a bit, “Are you kidding? That’s all I do.” 

“See? This could be the start of a beautiful friendship. I’m Kootra, by the way. Let me show you my set up,” Kootra grinned and started to lead Spoole deeper into the house. But Kootra was a little more handsy than Spoole expected and as soon as his hand landed on Spoole’s lower back, he was shouting and Spoole was met with a circle of automatics. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What have we here?” Kootra had pulled the pistol from Spoole’s waistband. 

Spoole flushed bright red and mustered up the most innocent face he could, “Would you believe that I’m holding it for a friend?” 

Kootra gave him a scathing look, which coupled with the ring of weapons took him from Dopey Dude to Actual Gang Leader, “Only if your friend wanted to get into your pants and, really, I think there’s easier ways of doing that. So, what’s a kid like you doing with a gun like this?” 

That was rude. Spoole shot him as nasty of a look as he could, “Hey, Los Santos is a dangerous place! What am I supposed to do if someone tries to mug me or steal my car?” 

The Asian kid, who hadn’t said a word, finally spoke up, “He’s kind of making a good point.” 

Kootra shook his head, “Yeah, normally that would be a good point, but let’s think back on this. Where did we pick him up at, Kevin?” 

Kevin thought for a moment, “Rockford Hills, right?” 

“And when was the last time you saw someone in Rockford Hills packing heat?” the guy in the Batman shirt was starting to put two and two together. Spoole was suddenly on much thinner ice. 

“And when was the last time you saw someone who _belonged_ in Rockford Hills packing heat?” Kootra stared at Spoole with a knowing grin. “So, what we can gather here is that you don’t belong in Rockford Hills. So, what were you doing in a jewelry store with a gun?” 

A cold sweat broke out on the back of Spoole’s neck, “What if I said I was shopping for wedding rings?” 

Kootra was suddenly in Spoole’s face with an iron grip on his bicep, “That’s real romantic and all, but you better just tell us what crew you’re part of.” 

Spoole tested the grip, but there was no getting free, “Crew? Why does a crew have to be involved?” 

The front door crashed open and a familiar, “Hello, boys” rang out from the entrance way. 

Joel, do you really have to do that every time we enter a building,” Bruce was here, too. 

“Well, I could greet everyone like I did on your birthday and get the outfit and everything.” 

“Will you two stop so we can find Spoole and take him home?” Thank god for Adam. He made things a little less mortifying. 

Speaking of which, the seven guys in the room with him were staring with varying looks of disbelief. The guy who had been driving rolled his eyes and kicked an end table, sending the lamp on it crashing to the ground. 

Beanie James’ rage turned on him, “Aleks! What is wrong with you?! Who does that?!” 

Aleks grinned at him and pointed down the hall where Spoole could hear his boys getting a clue, “Guys, you heard that right?” 

After a tense silence Spoole’s six favorite people emerged in the door frame, still in their heist clothes. Only to have guns pointed in their faces. The air of the room became ten times thicker and no one spoke for a while. 

Adam, surprisingly, was the one to break first. “Hi,” he gave a little wave. “You kind of have something that belongs to us and if we could have him back, that would be really cool.” 

Spoole slumped now that all the attention was off of him, but he could feel the holes that Kootra was now staring into Adam. “And just who is We?” 

Bruce was apparently ready for a fight, even in his dress clothes, “We’re Funhaus and we just want our friend back. No cops are here so you don’t really need him.” 

Spoole heard Joel mumble, “But we do.” and it sent bubbles to his heart. 

“Aw, and we were having such a good time. With the guns and the stealing and the yelling, it was really great, but you should really take your little pal back,” Beanie James had to put in his two cents. 

Kootra stepped up again, “Wait. Wait. All the pieces have finally fallen into place.” 

He turned to Spoole, “You were in Rockford Hills with a gun, because we totally stole you guys’ job. You had a gun and a crew in jewelry store! You guys were gonna rob the place, but then we swooped in and took those sweet gems from you. Oh, this is great. What a good cover you guys had. I would’ve never guessed. How funny is that?!” 

Kootra was losing his shit in the middle of the room. Spoole started inching his way towards his gang with the hope that he could just meet up with them and book it. 

Kootra stood up and brushed himself off while he caught his breath, “You guys are great. A real entertaining group, if the time spent with your friend Spoole here is any indication. I think we can ease up on you guys. If you’re just looking for to get your friend back, I think I can accept that. Rash decisions can really get a guy in trouble.” 

The rest of The Creatures looked around the room, shrugged at each other, and lowered their weapons. 

The blond guy, who had sat next to Spoole before, walked up to Kootra and placed a hand on his shoulder, “So, uh, can we kick these guys out now? It would be really great if we could eat.” 

Kootra turned to him and nodded slowly, “You know what, Seamus? That is a great idea. I think we could all use a little food.” 

He turned back to the new crew in his house and started to usher them out. Slipping Spoole’s pistol back into his pants as they were led, “So, Funhaus, it’s been great chatting with you and all, but I think it’s time we parted ways. Maybe next time it won’t be so wild.” 

They were pushed out the front door and heavy oak was slammed in their faces. They all stood on the front steps and looked at each other in confusion. Lawrence was the one who broke the silence, “So, kids these days, huh?” 

Matt’s shoulder hit him hard and he was given a disapproving look. Matt then rounded on Spoole, clutching his biceps, “What even happened?” 

Spoole thought for a moment; looking at every passing car and street lamp for inspiration, “Honestly, I don’t even know. All I know is that they did not like me. And everyone in this city is weird.” 

Matt sighed and rubbed at his temples, “At least you’re safe and here.” 

“Uh, can we not be standing at the front door of the guys who pointed guns at us like ten minutes ago? And go stand in my apartment instead?” Adam was looking around the street like the army was about to pop up at any moment. 

James led them all to the carpet cleaner’s van they had stolen weeks ago. Spoole stopped dead in his tracks and was doubled over laughing, “You guys showed up in this. Oh my god. You didn’t even stop to get actual cars?” 

“Of course not, Spoole, we had to come rescue your stupid ass,” Bruce pulled him into a headlock and seemed to have no intention of letting go. 

Spoole tried to free himself and keep his hat from hitting the ground at the same, “Hey, I’ve been told multiple times that my ass is fine and you know it.” 

Adam held the back of the van open and kept glancing down the street, “Can we please go home and pass out on my couch or bed or floor? Anywhere really, just so long as it’s my apartment and sleep happens at some point.” 

“Okay. Okay, we’ll get in the goddamn van,” Bruce picked up a protesting Spoole, and sat him on the hard floor, before climbing in himself. Adam also climbed in and slammed the door in exasperation. 

Joel was in the passenger seat, with his feet up on the dash. He leaned around his headrest and called back to Adam, “Adam, you know there’s going to be no sleep tonight. We were fucked on a heist and got our little Sean back. There is no way that we are not drinking until the sun comes up to celebrate and drown our sorrows at the same time.” 

Adam leaned his head back against the wall of the van and looked at James swatting Joel’s hands away from the radio, at Matt and Lawrence pressed together over a laptop (probably looking for a new heist location), and at Bruce next to him nudging Spoole with his foot, “Did I mention that I want our next stack of cash to go towards us moving in together?”


End file.
